# Why did they used to write apostrophes in place of silent e's? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 23, 2026, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-they-used-to-write-apostrophes-in-place-of-silent-es/1027915 "2026-02-23T22:16:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![themapleleaf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/themapleleaf/32/14349_2.png) [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2026, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-they-used-to-write-apostrophes-in-place-of-silent-es/1027915/1 "2026-02-23T22:16:00Z")
If you look at writing from the 18th century and sometimes later, it seems common to see aprostrophized e’s that we would generally consider silent, in this way: caution’d ev’ry Why did people do this? Was there a time when those e’s _were_ pronounced, then became contracted in speech, and people apostrophized them to mark the contraction, or something? ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2026, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-they-used-to-write-apostrophes-in-place-of-silent-es/1027915/2 "2026-02-23T22:27:03Z")
> [@themapleleaf](#): > > Why did people do this? Was there a time when those e’s _were_ pronounced, then became contracted in speech, and people apostrophized them to mark the contraction, or something? I hear, and sometimes myself pronounce, the middle “e” in “every”, especially if I’m enunciating or emoting. Like, if I’m mad, I might say, “It happens EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.” And pronounce the middle “e”. Like “eh-vuh-ree”. The other one though, that’s a head-scratcher. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2026, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-they-used-to-write-apostrophes-in-place-of-silent-es/1027915/3 "2026-02-23T22:28:59Z")
The -ed suffix used to always be a separate syllable. When it started being pronounced as one, the apostrophe was to note that omission of the sound. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2026, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-they-used-to-write-apostrophes-in-place-of-silent-es/1027915/4 "2026-02-23T22:45:37Z")
Romeo and Juliet, Act V, Scene 3. The ground is bloody; search about the churchyard: Go, some of you, whoe’er you find attach. Pitiful sight! here lies the county slain, And Juliet bleeding, warm, and newly dead, Who here hath lain these two days **buried.** Ten syllable line, ending with a three syllable word. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2026, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-they-used-to-write-apostrophes-in-place-of-silent-es/1027915/5 "2026-02-23T22:50:52Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > nding with a three syllable word. “Bur-y-ed” ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2026, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-they-used-to-write-apostrophes-in-place-of-silent-es/1027915/6 "2026-02-23T22:55:05Z")
Exactly. Note this facilitates the rhyme with “dead.” (Also, incidentally, the first line in that excerpt has eleven syllables, not ten, which is an acting cue to the performer; but that’s outside the context of the OP’s question.) ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2026, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-they-used-to-write-apostrophes-in-place-of-silent-es/1027915/7 "2026-02-24T00:46:39Z")
As I understood, the apostrophe marks a spot where there is a stop in place of the letter (vowel or consonant). Ev’ry would be “Ev…ry” and whoe’er would be “who-eh..ehr”. As that post points out, it also appears to be a device to ensure proper pronunciation in multiple sylables (or fewer?) when included in a poetic meter. Seems similar to the glottal stop in Inuit names written with an apostrophe (which I have to assume was conceived by English speakers attempting to write the lanuage).